Western Reserve Academy is thrilled to announce that Arlette Correa ’24 has been named a QuestBridge Scholarship recipient, receiving a full, four-year scholarship to Northwestern University. This monumental accomplishment is made all the more meaningful knowing that Northwestern was Arlette’s top choice, as it is close to her family in Chicago and will allow her to study and pursue a future in public policy. And along with her brother — who is currently attending DePaul University — Arlette will be a first-generation college graduate in her family.
The 2023 QuestBridge National College Match received more than 20,800 applicants, selecting 6,683 Finalists for consideration for this highly competitive and coveted full four-year scholarship to 50 of the nation’s best colleges. This year, QuestBridge’s 50 college partners matched with 2,242 Finalists, who are recognized as Match Scholarship Recipients.
As described by the program, QuestBridge is a national nonprofit that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education and further life opportunities. This year’s recipients had an average unweighted GPA of 3.94 and 93% are in the 10% of their graduating class.
With numerous accolades and experiences on her resume, Arlette takes high-achieving to a new level. During her tenure as a WRA student, she has been named a recipient of the Smith College Book Award; she participated in multiple Model UN conferences, including the Cleveland Council on World Affairs Model UN Conference in Cleveland last spring; and she was named a recipient of the National Hispanic Recognition Award. She’s currently participating in CL Compass, WRA’s College Level independent study, where she is working to inspire, empower and build community for first-generation students by crafting a website with resources, such as scholarships, alumni advice and other first-person accounts. And recently, she was a proud WRA representative at the 2023 NAIS People of Color Conference in St. Louis, which is where she received the good news from QuestBridge!
“It’s funny, I actually got an email from Yale and Columbia, which were other schools I ranked, explaining that they had withdrawn my application since I was already matched with another school,” she explained. “Up until that point, I had planned on opening up the email with my parents — but of course, I had to know which school I had matched with!”
It was only a short delay before her parents and brother shared in her joy, as well as her college counselor, WRA Associate Director of College Counseling Anna Hutchins. Arlette expressed gratitude for both her college counselors, one of which she worked with through the USC Bovard Scholars, and Hutchins, who was always available to answer questions, offer advice and dive into the QuestBridge process alongside Arlette with a notebook full of notes always at the ready.
Arlette is in a rare class of those high school seniors who already know where they’ll be headed next fall — with even fewer on a full scholarship earned on such incredible merit. When reflecting on this, her big smile and effusive “this is crazy” is sheer, understated bliss, though after reviewing all of her many accomplishments, we can’t say it’s a total surprise! According to her teachers, Arlette brings smiles and passion in the classroom, finding ways to make learning and discovery fun and joyful. She works hard and with enthusiasm, and it’s easy to see why she would stand out among our nation’s best and brightest.
Congratulations, Arlette!
